It all started when…

Le Barn Appetit french restaurant was opened in 1987 by the Van Driessche family. The name is a play on the french phrase, “Bon appetit!” and was chosen by the town of Seward in a business naming competition. It has evolved from its original form into a creperie and Inn, still run by Janet and her daughter Jacqueline!

Janet moved from New Mexico to Dillingham, Alaska in 1972 to be a special education teacher for a year before returning to complete her Masters in speach pathology, or so she thought. She taught school in Anchorage for another 1 1/2 years. In 1975, she met her late husband, they married, and moved to Seward. She never did move back home to New Mexico!

Janet created both the Seward Tsunami Swim Club (STSC) and the Seward High School Swim/Dive team in 1977. She took a 20 year break from teaching school and became her late husband’s diving tender for their business "Black Dolphin Divers", and co-owner of their business "Alaska Pacific Seafoods". During that period, Janet became a certified scuba diver, raised three+ children, and in 1987 was the co-creator of this Inn & Creperie. She went back to teaching at the Seward Middle School in 1998. She retired as a swim coach in 2011, and retired from teaching school in 2012.

Jacqueline was born and raised in Seward, Alaska and helped with running the inn and creperie throughout her childhood and into college. Coached by her mother, she swam to success on the Seward Tsunami Swim Club. She left Seward, was educated at University of Alaska, and spent many years outside of Alaska. She soon realized she wasn’t cut out for a city life and moved back to Alaska for the summer months. She and her husband, Andrew, also run Expeditions Northwest, a small-group whale and wildlife tour company out of Seward that specialize in photography and expertly curated tours!